Only a third of Brits now see America as a 'friend and ally' as the 'special relationship' takes a battering following Donald Trump's return.

Only a third of Britons now see America as a 'friend and ally' as the so-called 'special relationship' takes a battering under Donald Trump, a new poll has shown. A YouGov survey found little more than half of Britons (53 per cent) consider the US as either a 'friend and ally' or 'friendly rival' to the UK and other European countries. This was down significantly from the 67 per cent who believed this in December last year, just prior to Mr Trump's return as US President.

Arming Ukraine: A closer look at US military aid as Trump freezes further shipments

President Donald Trump recently halted all future shipments of military aid to Ukraine after a heated meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week exacerbated a chasm in US-Ukraine relations. Western allies anticipate that Ukraine could sustain its current fighting pace for several weeks before the stoppage in US assets would start to affect operations. With the pause likely to remain in place until Trump is satisfied with what he sees as Zelensky’s commitment to peace talks, CNN looks at what exactly was in the military aid sent by the United States so far, how much was sent and how a prolonged halt could start to impact Ukraine’s war efforts. The US has given $69 billion in military aid The US is the largest single donor to the war-torn nation, sending at least $123 billion in total aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Military aid made up $69 billion of that, or 56% of the US total, according to data from Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank that closely tracks wartime aid to Ukraine. See how aid from the US, the European Union and its institutions, and all other countries

The Trump revolution is being slowed by its own political debris field

It was the week reality began to catch up with the White House. President Donald Trump made clear in his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night there will be no let-up in his relentless pace, his attempts to maximize executive power and his shake-up of the country and the world. Yet every political action causes a counter reaction. And the first signs of friction are appearing that could slow the president’s shock-and-awe start to his administration. It’s unlikely to stop Trump’s aggressive power plays, but it shows that even he is not immune to political gravity. There’s little sign that he faces any imminent and meaningful opposition from congressional Democrats, whose glum and lame acts of protest during his primetime speech only exposed their powerlessness. But the complications of a softening economy do now seem to be weighing on Trump’s behavior. The impact on regular Americans of Elon Musk’s bid to shred the federal government has prompted GOP lawmakers to demand a role. The Supreme Court just issued a ruling that could frustrate the administration’s attempt to shut down foreign aid. And more court rulings reining in Trump’s power grabs mean that the coming months are likely to be more impeded than his first six weeks in office.